The Man Must Marry(12)

"That's not necessary."

"But Ben loves shopping," Jesse drawled. "Take him, Willa. Please?"

Willa looked down at her salad. So far, she'd only managed to push it   around on her plate. "I suppose. If you're sure you want to," she said,   looking at Ben.                       
       
           



       

"Like my brother said, I enjoy shopping," he said, his smile tight.   Willa saw him dart a killer glare at Jesse, though. Which meant that   neither of them thought she was capable of buying a dress by herself.   Sam didn't even look up from his lunch to offer an opinion.

"Unless, of course, you'd like to go, Sam," Ben said.

"I've got phone calls to make," Sam said, finally looking up. "No, you go with Willa. Have a good time."

All three men were putting up a valiant front, but Willa guessed none of   them would relax until their grandfather was home, until they actually   saw him again, even though he'd be lying in a casket.

"It's really weird, not having to cook for myself," she said conversationally, taking a bite of her salad.

"You get used to it," Jesse offered with a smile.

Willa smiled back. "You've all grown up rather spoiled, haven't you?"   she said, hoping to get a reaction. She got three dangerous glowers.

"Spoiled! Because we have a cook?" Ben asked.

Willa waved her fork in the air. "A cook, a mansion, money coming out of   your ears. Women hanging on your arms, a chauffeur to drive you  places,  a helicopter, probably a jet, a Sengatti sloop, a grandfather  who loved  you to distraction. Shall I go on?"

"Please do, Ms.Kent ," Sam said. "And while you're at it, tell us how deprived your life has been."

"My life has been just great, Mr. Sinclair," she shot back. "I'm not complaining. I'm just making an observation."

"We have no say in how we enter this world," Sam countered. "Your words,   if I remember correctly. Bram certainly didn't have any say about the   poverty he was born into. His choice was how he lived each day." Sam   pointed his fork at her, his eyes narrowed. "And our grandparents made   sure we weren't spoiled. We work just as hard as the next man. And we   take nothing for granted."

"Whew! I can see you got the sense of humor in the family." Willa put   some salad in her mouth, chewing it quietly while she watched Sam   Sinclair redden with either anger or chagrin, she didn't know which.

"Tell us why you own a casket-manufacturing business," Ben interjected. "How did you get started?"

"I used to work at Grand Point Bluff, a retirement community in   Keelstone Cove, where I live. I was the director of entertainment. It   was my job to plan all the social activities."

"And you started making coffins during craft hour?" Jesse asked dryly.

"No. This wasn't a nursing home; most of the tenants were still quite   active. I set up a woodworking shop in one of the outbuildings." Willa   smiled in memory. "Tools began appearing. The men dug them out of the   boxes they'd brought from their old homes. They hadn't been able to part   with them."

"And … " Ben put his fork down to lean his elbows on the table.

"And one man, Levi, began to build a coffin for his wife. She had cancer   and only had a couple of months to live. It was therapy for Levi. He   was a master carpenter, and he built a beautiful casket-gorgeously   detailed, finer than any furniture I've seen. His wife, Muriel, took a   quilt she'd made and fashioned it into a lining for the casket."

Willa stared at her plate. "I was appalled, at first-until I realized   that it was comforting for both of them. Muriel knew she'd be resting   eternally in a gift her husband had built with loving hands. And Levi   felt more at peace because he was seeing to his wife's final comfort,   just as he'd done for her all his life."

Silence echoed through the large dining room as Willa looked up at the   men, who were staring at her with unblinking, unreadable eyes.

"I decided I wanted to do that for people," she continued softly. "I   took some of the money from my divorce settlement, found a silent   partner for the rest, and bought an old factory. The residents of the   retirement community became my employees. They'd all watched Levi, and   they all wanted to do something just as nice. Older people have a   wonderful attitude about death and about life in general. And they're   really great employees. They've taught me a lot about running a   business."

"And you say your caskets go all over the world?" Jesse asked. "That's   rather impressive growth for what is basically a cottage industry."

"Yes." Willa gave him a Cheshire cat smile. "There are several retired   executives living at Grand Point Bluff as well. I hired them, too."
                       
       
           



       
"That was damn smart of you." Jesse leaned back in his seat and looked   over at Sam. "A very intelligent business move, wouldn't you say, Sam?"

"That's what I've been saying all along." Sam gazed at Willa with that   look again. The one he'd given her in the car that had made her bolt.

"Can we go shopping now?" she asked Ben, standing up.

Chapter Five

Willa munched the lastbite of toast Peg had made her for breakfast as   she headed for the parlor to help the staff prepare for Abram's wake.   When she reached the end of the hall leading from the kitchen, she   stopped in her tracks. "Richard!" she exclaimed, taking a step back.   "What are you doing here?"

Her brother-in-law stood in the foyer, glowering at her. "Somebody had to drive the old bastard home,"

he said. "And your sister volunteered me for the job."

"That was thoughtful ofShelby . And you," she quickly tacked on,   stepping to the side of the hall when he started toward her. "Um … you'll   probably want to start back right away, just as soon as you get  yourself  some coffee," she said, motioning back down the hall. "Peg  will fix you  up in the kitchen."

He stopped in front of her. "You've been talking toShelby again," he   said through gritted teeth, his eyes cold and accusing. "Trying to   persuade her to divorce me."

Willa pressed up against the wall. "What makes you think it's me? MaybeShelby reached that conclusion by herself."

He snorted and stepped closer. "Women don't just suddenly start talking   divorce after sixteen years of marriage unless somebody puts the idea  in  their heads. And you," he growled, grabbing her by the shoulders  when  she tried to sidestep away, "are the only person with that kind of   influence overShelby ."

Willa became alarmed. Richard Bates wasn't merely being his contrary   self; he was honestly, truly angry. She ducked under his arm and ran   toward the parlor-directly into a hall table holding several vases of   flowers.

She managed to stop one of the vases from falling, but the two on the   far end toppled over, glass shattering onto the marble floor. Richard   lunged after her, grabbing her when she slipped, causing her arms to   jerk upward. The vase she was holding broke on impact with Richard's   head. She screamed, Richard shouted a succinct curse and let her go, and   she fell to the floor with a thud. With a sudden blur of motion,  things  went from bad to worse. A roar came from the direction of the  stairs,  and she was suddenly picked up and tossed against a rock-solid  chest.

"Did you get cut?" Ben asked, carrying Willa away.

"I don't think so," she said, looking over his shoulder when she heard   another roar. That one had come from Richard as Sam's fist made contact   with her brother-in-law's gut. Willa wriggled to get free, but Ben   merely continued to carry her away.

"We have to stop them!" she cried, squirming violently enough that Ben   lost his grip, allowing her to stand. But it didn't stop him from   dragging her into the parlor, out of sight of the battle she could hear   raging in the foyer. "Why is Sam beating him up?"

Ben pulled her over to one of the windows. "He's got this thing about seeing a guest being attacked."

"But Richard was-"

"Hold still," he growled. "I want to make sure you didn't get cut on the broken glass."

The sound of splintering wood came from the foyer, along with the   unmistakable thud of a body hitting the wall. Willa flinched, and Ben   chuckled as he lifted her wrists to see her hands.